Apparatus for forging bucket-wheels.



W. H. T. THORNHlLL.

APPARATUS Foa FORGING BUCKET WHEELS.

APPLCATlON FILED MAR. 23' 1.9m.

Patented July 11, l9l6.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I,

W. H. T THORNHILL.

Patented July' 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-'SHEET 2.

f Il 1 f, Il

wlw1 l itt WILLIAM I-I. T. THORNHILL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR FRGING BUCKET-WHEELS.

Original application led February 23, 1915, Serial No. 9,863.

To all Lo/wm t may concern Be it known that I, IVILLIAM. II. T. THORNHILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have in- Avented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Forging Bucket-VVheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and ein act descr-notion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

The forging' of bucket wheels by appa- 1atus in most general use involves the employment of cumbersome and expensive dies, whose life is short, and special dies are necessary for each size of wheel. The operation is therefore quite expensive. A process and apparatus are, however, known whereby comparatively small and inexpensive dies of relatively great durability may bf.: utilized in the manufacture of wheels of different sizes. In this process a blank with a central hole is placed upon an anvil die having a pin which projects through the hole. One wall of the hole is maintained against the pin and an upper die compresses the metal of the blank along a radially extending section thereof adjacent to said wall, the blank being turned from time to time to allow the upper die to compress other radial sectioir the operation being continued unt-il the entire blank is forged. This process displaees the metal mainly tangentially or at right angles to the radius under the die, thus in- .creasing the diameter of the wheel. It also reduces the thickness of the wheel.. This process, while operative to effect the manufacture of different sized wheels unprovided with rims of greater thickness than the webs, is not, in and of itself, operative to effect the complete manufacture of different sized wheels provided with rims of special thickness. l

The object of my invention is to modify and improve this known apparatus and process so as to forge wheels of different diameter having rims of greater thickness than the web.

The invention has for another object the manufacture, without change of dies, of wheels in which the difference between thickness of web and thickness of hub is variable.

In the drawings, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my improved appaI Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented duly 1li, Mille.

Divided and this application led March 23,

Serial No. 86,185.

ratus for carrying out my ess: Figure l is a plan view of the lower die and carriage. F ig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus, with a wheel blank shaped as a result of the lirstforging operation. I? 3 is a section on line 3&3 of Fig. 1. Fig. is a section showing an end view of the dies. Fig. 5 is a side view similar to Fig. 2 showing the carriage in a different position, with a wheel .blank shaped as a result of the concluding forging' operation.

r1, represents a stationary anvil or lower die. The upper die Z) is shouldered on its inner face to receive a removable die see tion c held in place by studs o?.

Adjacent to the inner face of die a is a carriage e. This carriage constitutes, in effeet, part of the lower die, as clearly appears hereinafter. At the beginning of the forging operation, the carriage preferably abuts against the lower die so as to be continuous therewith. The carriage c is slidable horiz/.ontally toward and from the stationary lower die along ways f, which rest on removable blocks 7L within a support g. The support and ways are secured together by means of bolts z' extending between flanges g, f. The ways f and the carriage c are provided with rows of holes 7c and respectively., The holes in one member are spaced differently from the holes in the other member. Thus, I have the holes spaced at uniform distances apart and the holes j at irregular' distances apart. At different horizontal. positions of the carriage different pairs of holes aline, and the carriage is maintained in any adjusted position at which the holes register by means of pins fm. The carriage is socketed on its face to receive the enlarged lower end of a removable pin n. The ways f are vertically adjustable in the support The height of the ways is determined by the thickness of the blocks 7i.

In the initial operation the carriage is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and a blank, of disk shape with a center hole, is placed on the carriage. One radially eX- tending section of the blank will overlie the lower die a. The wall of the hole in the blank that is nearest the dies a and 7) is maintained against the pin a. The upper die, by suitable mechanism, is lifted and moved down or allowed to drop, and alternately therewith the blank is turned step by improved procstep, until the dies have acted upon Ythe en'- tire circumference of the wheel, thereby v shaping thesame to the form shown at Vo;

in Fig. 2. VThis operation increases the. diameter of the wheel, shapes the wheel at the junction between hub andweb, and reduces Vthe thickness of the'vvheel. The pins m are now withdrawn andthe carriage e is moved horizontally in the ways f away'from the die a. The distance to which thecarriage will be moved depends upon the extent lto i' which it is desired to enlarge the diameter of the wheel in the next operation. The pins fm) are now reinserted. The upper die is now reciprocated andthe wheel-turned as in the vfirst forging operation. In the second operation, however, the wall o-f the hole farthest from the dies is maintained against thev pin. There is preferably, no further reduction in the thickness of the Vhub or of that part of the web adjacent 'thereto,-but themetal of the rim is com- -pressed and also displaced outwardly, thus substantially increasing Vthe radial"dimen sions of the web and decreasing the width and thickness of the rim, as shown at y,

Y Fig. 5. If'the second operation is the final panding operation, it is found thatv the rim is of too great thickness, the wheel can be V moved over into position to bring the edge -of the'rim underneath the upper die, and

the rim alone may then fbe compressed to the proper thickness byV revolving the wheel step by step between reciprocations of the upper die, as in the previous operations.

To effect the forging of a wheel having a hub vof relatively great thickness, the ways f arelowered by removing the blocks g or,

by substituting thinner blocks. The die section c is' also removed and 'a thinnerl plate substituted. Y

I do Anot herein claimithe process for forg- Qopies ofy this patent may be obtained for ing bucket wheels herein set forth 'as the Y same forms the subject matter of'an application filed February 23d, 1915, Serial No.

Y 9,863 of which this application is a division.

Having now fully described,v my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. Means for forging wheels provided Vwith a central hole, comprising a carriage,

a lower die forming, with the carriage, a support for a part of the blank, an abutment on the carriage adapted to extend through the hole in the blank, an upper die, and ways in which the carriage is movable horizontally toward and from the lower die.

2. Means for forging wheels provided with a central hole, comprising an upper die, a lower die, a carriage forming with the lower die a support for a part of the blank and adjustable horizontally toward and from the lower die and also adjustable vertically, and an abutment on the adjust- Vable carriage adapted to extend through the hole in the blank.

3. Means for forging wheels provided with a central hole, comprising a lower die, a horizontally adjustable carriage along- Side the lower die, an abutment on the adustable carriage adapted to extend through the hole in the blank, and an upper die adapted to extend over the lower die and also over a part of the carriage when the latter is in horizontal position nearest the lower die.

4. VMeans for forging wheels provided with `a central hole, comprising a carriage, a lower die forming with the carriage a. support for a part of the blank, an abutment on the. carriage adapted to extend through the hole in the blank, an upper die, ways in which the carriage is movable horizontally toward and from the lower die, said carriage and ways having rows of holes dierentially spaced, and a pin adapted to engage alining holes in the carriage and ways respectively.

In testimony of which invention` I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, ou this 17th day of March, 1916.

IVILLIAM H. T. THORNHILL.

Vitnesses:

J. EN'iwisLn, F. S. REINHOLD.

five cents each, by addressing; the Commissioner of Patents, v Washington). C. 

